Butt splicer for butt-joining a fresh web to a running web

ABSTRACT

A butt splicer for butt-joining a new we b to a progressing web which permits to join both webs without any risk for edge-overlapping. The splicer comprises a stationary and a displaceable clamping head for clamping the webs together preparatory to splicing, a cutter for simultaneously cutting both webs transversely while they are pressed together by the clamping heads, a tape applicator for taping the webs together at one side after the cut-off end of the web at that side has been removed, and a bar extending transversely of the web path and displaceable through the clamping plane, within the clamping zone, to cause localized bowing of one web and consequent displacement of its cut end away from the cut end of the other web before such we bends are taped together.

July 1973 E. A. PEETERS ET AL v To A RUNNING WEI,

BUTT SILlCER FOR BUTT-JOINING FRESH WEB 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

Filed Jan. 28, 1971 July 17, 1973 E. A. PEETERS E AL v I BUTT SPLICER FOR BUTT-JOINING A FRESH 'WEB TO A RUNNING WEB Filed Jan. 28, 1971- 6 Sheets-Sheet a FIG July 17, 1973 E. A. FIEETERS ET AL 3,745,599

BUTT SPLICER FOR BUTT-JOINING A FRESH WEB TO A RUNNING WEB Filed Jan. 28, 1971 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 July 17, 19 73 E. A. PEETERS E L 3,745,599

BUTT SPLICER FOR BUTT-JOINING A FRESH WEB TO A RUNNING WEB 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 28, 1971 FIG 6.

July 17, 1973 E. A. PEETERS ET AL 3,746,599

BUTT SPLICER FOR'BUTTJOINING A FRESH WEB TO A RUNNING WEB Filed Jan. 28, 1971 w 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 6.

FIG 7.

July 17, 1973 E. A. PEETERS ET L 3,746,599

BUTT SPLICER FOR BUTT-JOINING A FRESH WEB TO A RUNNING WEB Filed Jan. 28, 1971 e Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent ,374/ 70 Int. Cl. 1331f 5/06; G031! 15/04 U.S. Cl. 156-505 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A butt splicer for butt-joining a new web to a progressing web which permits to join both webs without any risk for edge-overlapping. V

The splicer comprises a stationary and a displaceable clamping head for clamping the webs together preparatory to splicing, a cutter for simultaneously cutting both webs transversely while they are pressed together by the clamping heads, a tape applicator for taping the webs together at one side after the cut-off end of the web at that side has been removed, and a bar extending transversely of the web path and displaceable through the clamping plane, within the clamping zone, to cause localized bowing of one web and consequent displacement of its cut end away from the cut end of the other web before such web ends are taped together.

The present invention relates to a butt splicer for buttjoining a fresh web to a progressing web.

In the operation of coating, printing and other machines wherein the coating, printing and/ or other operations are performed continuously on a moving web of paper, film, fabric or other material forming a flexible web and wherein the web is delievered to the machine from a roll, it is frequently necessary shortly before the web on a roll has been consumed, to feed a fresh web to the machine without stopping it.

This is done by means of a splicing apparatus wherein one or more tapes are adhered to the appropriately cut trailing end of the progressing web and to the leading end of the fresh web in order to join both webs to each other.

In those cases where the webs must undergo delicate treatments such as the application of light-sensitive layers by dipor bead coating in the manufacturing of photographic materials, it is important that the thickness of the web does not markedly increase locally because any thickened web portion disturbs the surface of the liquid composition in the coating tray so that wave patterns are created which may become visible in the coated layer. In addition, air bubbles may be introduced into the liquid which may remain for a longer time just under the surface thereof, and cause thereby longitudinal stripes on the web of reduced coating thickness. Known apparatus for buttjoining webs wherein the webs are severed simultaneously while being pressed onto each other, and wherein a thin and strong self-adhesive tape is stuck over the severed web ends at one side of the webs after the cut-olf portion of the web at that side has been removed, do not always give good results since the severing of web ends which are firmly pressed onto each other and which are held immobile does not always provide two web edges which accurately abut against each other. It occurs frequently that the edge of one web overlies with part of its length or of its thickness the extremity of the other web as a consequence of improper outing and/or of difiicult web structure, so that the thickness of the web at the locus of the joint is not only increased by the thickness of the joining tape, which is usually a fraction of the Web thickness,

3,746,599 Patented July 17, 1973 but also by a value which may even equal the thickness of the web.

The present invention aims at providing an apparatus for butt-joining a new web to a progressing web which permits to join both webs without any risk for partial or complete edge-overlapping.

According to the present invention a butt splicer for butt-joining a fresh web to a progressing web, both webs being passed through the butt splicer along adjacent paths, comprises relatively displaceable clamping means for clamping the webs together preparatory to splicing, a cutter for simultaneously cutting both webs transversely while they are pressed together by the clamping means, a tape applicator for taping the webs together at one side after the cut-off end of the web at that side has been removed, and butt control means for causing a separation of the freshly cut web edges over a small distance before such web ends are taped together.

In most cases separation of the freshly cut web ends over a distance of 0.1 to 0.3 millimeter will give optimum results. An edge separation greater than 0.3 millimeter will not be preferred in general because the adhesive layer of the tape becomes excessively exposed in the gap between the webs and may thereby either collect dust or adhere to the preceding web winding, and moreover an important interruption between the web edges may also disturb the surface of a coating composition or introduce air therein.

The following disclosures include preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention.

The butt control means comprises a member extending transversely of the web path and displaceable through the clamping plane, within the clamping zone, to cause local bowing of one web and. consequent displacement of its cut end away from the cut end of the other .web.

The butt control means comprises an elongate crossmember which extends transversely of the path of the webs and which is mounted for displacement in a direction towards and away from the webs, to lie in the inoperative position flush with or below the clamping surface of the clamping means at that side of the web and to project in the operative position over a small distance over said clamping surface, and the clamping means at the other side of the web is provided in its clamping surface with a recess for receiving the projecting portion of the crossmember when the clamping means and the cross-member are in the operative position.

The butt control means is located at a locus of the clamping area which, according to the longitudinal direction of the web, is closer to the end of the clamping area, which is nearest to the transverse line of cut, than to the end of the clamping area which is remote of said line, to thereby permit a firmer hold of the web at the side of the butt control means remote of the transverse line of cut than at the side nearest to said line of cut.

Braking means is provided for applying braking forces to the progressing web to arrest said web during the splicing interval, and to supplement thereby the said firmer hold of the web at the side of the butt control means remote of the line of cut.

From the above it will be understood that the splicing of the webs occurs while the corresponding web ends are arrested. Since the splicing apparatus according to the invention is primarily intended for use with continuously operating web treating apparatus, it will be apparent that the apparatus according to the invention will mostly be used in conjunction with a web collectoi' or a web accumulator which enables the travel of the progressing web to the treating appartus to be continued while the trailing end of said web is temporarily arrested to perform the joining thereof to the fresh web.

The invention will be described hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a digramatic perspective view of the overall slicing apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view taken generally along lines 22 of FIG. 1 and showing the apparatus according to the invention in the inoperative position.

FIG. 3 is a partial horizontal section on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the movable clamping head of the apparatus, the details of the stationary clamping head being omitted for sake of clarity.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view on line 55 of FIG. 4, the apparatus being in the operative position.

FIGS. 6 to 10 are diagrammatic views illustrating the sequential operations for joining the webs.

FIG. 11 is a front view of part of the pressure bar of the apparatus.

The butt splicer shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, is an apparatus wherein a fresh web 11 is butt-joined to a progressing web 12 while both webs follow a substantially vertical path through the apparatus.

The apparatus is mounted between two vertical supports 13 and 14 which are spaced apart and which are fixed to the floor. The supports are actually hollow columns, see e.g. support 13 in FIGS. 3 and 4, wherein different air motors and a cam shaft mechanism (not shown) controlling the operation of the apparatus are mounted.

Two clamping heads 15 and 16 extend between the supports transverse with respect to the path followed by the webs through the apparatus. The head 16 is fixedly supported between the two columns whereas the head 15 is arranged for displacement towards and away from the fixed support in a direction normal thereto. To this end, the head 15 is provided with lateral supports, such as the support 17 shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 which extends through a horizontal elongate opening in the column and which is attached to a bushing 18 which is clamped to a shaft portion 19 which is journalled for axial displacement in the frame of the apparatus. The position of the displaceable head is controlled by air motors 20 and 21, the cylinders of which are connected to each other. The piston rod of motor 20 is linked to one extremity of the shaft portion 19 whereas the piston rod of motor 21 is connected to the machine frame. The operation of the motors will be given further in the description.

The stationary head 16 comprises a boxlike structure 25 which is provided with a clamping plate 26 wherein three rows 27 and one row 28 of transversely spaced small openings are provided in which a vacuum may be maintained. In a recess bet-ween the rows of openings a butt control member is provided which has the form of an elongate bar 29 which extends transversely of the path of the web and which has a rounded-off edge 30. The bar is mounted for movement in a direction towards the head 15 so that in the operative position its edge 30 may project out of the clamping surface of the clamping plate 26. In the inoperative position the outer extremity of the edge of the bar lies flush with or underlies the clamping surface of the plate 26. The operation of the bar is controlled by an air motor 31. Finally, the clamping surface is provided with a groove 32 for cooperation with the knife blade to be described hereinafter.

The displaceable head 15 comprises a cutter 33 for severing the webs transversely when they lie onto each other, a tape applicator 34 for taping the webs together, a pressure bar 35 and two small knives 36 and 37 for trimming off the extremities of the tape after it has been applied to the web ends.

The cutter 33 and the tape applicator 34 are mounted for displacement in a direction transversely of the path of the webs to be treated.

The cutter comprises a circular knife blade 38 (FIG. 4) and a rubber roller 39 which are coupled to each other and which are mounted for free rotation around a shaft pin. The diameter of the rubber roller equals that of the knife blade. The cutter has an upwardly extending arm 40 attached to a cable 41 which runs over two idler wheels shown in broken lines. The position of the cable is controlled by an air motor 42 so that the cutter may be moved from the rest position, shown at the left hand side of the web 12 according to FIG. 4, towards the right hand side to thereby sever the webs.

The tape applicator 34 comprises a roll with self-adhesive tape 44 (FIG. 5) which is wound with the adhesive layer towards the interior of the roll. The tape is led over idler rollers 45 and 46 and projects with the cut-01f end out of the tape applicator. The applicator has an upwardly extending arm 47 attached to a cable 48 which runs over two wheels similar to the arrangement for the cutter. The position of the tape applicator is controlled by an air motor 49.

The idler roller 46 is slightly displaceable in a direction to and from the stationary head 16 and is biased towards said head (by means not shown). In its inoperative position, the roller 46 projects slightly past the clamping surface of plate 26 and in that position clamps the leading end of tape 44 between its periphery and transverse support strip 23 provided for this purpose on the tape applicator 34. As the tape applicator advances across the web from one edge to the other, the roller 46 rides up on plate 26 and over the webs supported on that plate. As roller 46 rides up on plate 26, it is lifted away from support strip 23 so as to release the clamping force on the leading end of the tape. As the thus released tape leading end reaches the adjacent margin of plate 26, it adheres thereto and further movement of the applicator causes the tape to be progressively wound from its supply roll, applied across the entirety of the web joint, and finally to the opposite margin of supporting plate 26.

The small knives 36 and 37 for trimming off the extremities of the tape after its application are mounted for movement in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the web and they are displaceable over a distance which slightly exceeds the width of the adhesive tape which joins the web ends. The position of the knives is controlled by air motors 50 and 51.

The clamping face of the displaceable head, which is the side facing the corresponding side of the opposite head, is provided with two elongate pressure strips or pads 62 and 53 (FIG. 2) of resilient material, e.g. butyl rubber or the like, the length of which exceeds the width of the webs to be treated, and which extend slightly from the clamping surface of the head in the direction towards the opposite head. Between the two pressure strips a groove 55 is provided in the clamping surface which permits the displacement of the butt control bar 29 when the heads are clamped against each other in the operative position.

Another pressure element of the head 15 is formed by the pressure bar 35 which is a U-shaped elongate rail movable in a direction normal to the clamping surface of the head and which is spring-biased towards the opposite head. The frontside of the bar is provided with spaced circular pads 56 of resilient elastomer material, as shown in getail in FIG. 11 which is a front view of part of the In the description hereinbefore of the various elements for clamping, severing and joining the webs, the term transversely has been used to indicate the relative position of said elements with respect to the longitudinal direction of the web. Actually, the position of said elements is not exactly normal to the longitudinal direction of the web, but it rather makes an angle which amounts to about 93 such as indicated by the angle oz in FIG. 4.

In this way, a web joint is obtained which runs slightly obliquely so that a smoother passage of the joint over the different rollers of the web treating machines is obtained. The said term should, therefore, be construed sufficiently broad to include also such slightly oblique mounting.

The proceeding web 12 is pulled through the apparatus over free rotatable guide rollers 60, 61 and 62 (FIG. 2). Roller 61 is arranged to form together with a displaceable roller 63, the position of which is under the control of an air motor 64, a pressure roller pair. Both rollers are provided with a resilient covering. The shaft extremities of the roller 61 are provided with drum portions which may cooperate with brake shoes 65 which are under the control of an air motor 66.

The fresh web 11 is treated as follows before the operation of splicing the webs is performed automatically. The operator folds the leading end of the Web 11 round a rod 67 and attaches said end in a known way, e.g. by taping or gluing. The rod 67 extends transversely between the two vertical supports 13 and 14 and is attached with each extremity to an endless sprocket chain 68 which runs over four sprocket wheels, shown in dash and dot lines in the FIG. 2. The surface of the wall of each support on which the sprocket chain mechanism is mounted is recessed in such a way that the sprocket wheels and the chain are embedded in the wall, see for instance the grooves 70 and 71 for the sprocket chain in the wall of column 13 in FIG. 3. In the mentioned way, any risk for the operator or for the web to be gripped between the chain mechanism in the case of an incorrect operation is virtually eliminated. The two sprocket chains at either side of the web path are synchronized by means of a shaft 72 to which one sprocket wheel of each chain mechanism is fitted. The shaft 72 is coupled to an electric motor, not shown, which controls the movements of the chain during the web splicing operation which will now be described.

It is assumed that the leading end of a roll of fresh web material is prepared as described hereinbefore, and that the proceeding web runs through the splicing apparatus to a further web treatment device which permits the temporary arrest of the web during the splicing interval.

The operator pushes a start button which starts a cam shaft mechanism, not shown, which controls the air admittance to the various air motors and the rotation of the electric motor driving the sprocket chain in timed relation, so that the following operations occur in sequence.

First, air is admitted to the air motor 64 so that the roller 63 is pressed against the roller 61 (FIG. 6). Air motor 66 is operated so that the roller 61 is braked and the web 12 is arrested. At the same time the rod 67 is moved to draw the fresh web 11 upwardly between the clamping heads and the rod motion is arrested when the position, as shown in FIG. 7, has been reached.

Second, air is admited to the air motors 20 and 21 so that the movable head 15 is pressed against the stationary head 16 (FIG. 7) to take thereby its first operative position. The air motor 42 is operated so that the cutter 33 is pulled towards the opposite edge of the webs. During this movement, the rubber roller 39 rides over exposed surface of the web 11, and, since its periphery has been impressed over a distance of about 1.5 mm. at the locus of contact with the web, the free edge of the knife blade 38 at that locus cuts through the webs. The peripheral speed of the edge of the blade is somewhat higher than the peripheral speed of the rubber roller 39 as a consequence of the impression of the rubber roller, and a slight improvement in the smooth cutting of the webs is obtained thereby. Another factor which contributes to the good cutting is the small angle, viz about 1 angular degree, which exists between the plane through the blade and the plane through the line of cut, normal to the plane of the webs. This feature has been diagrammatically shown in FIG. 4, wherein the angle 18 is the angle which exists between the axis of the blade 38 and the line of cut, measured in a plane parallel to the webs, and which is 91 angular degrees. During the cutting, the blade edge thus forms a negative angle of 1 degree with the upper edge of the groove .32 it cooperates with to perform the cutting.

Third, when the cutter has reached its extreme position at the right side according to FIG. 4, the air pressure supply to the air motor 21 is reversed, so that said motor retracts thereby to slightly remove the movable head 15 from the stationary head 16 (FIG. 8) to thereby impart the second operative position to the head. The mecahnism of the rod 67 is actuated so that the cut-off portion of the web 11 is withdrawn from between the heads. During these operations the webs are firmly held in place "by the pressure bar 35 which urges the two webs against the head 16 by the rollers 61 and 62 which secure the position of the web 12, and by the vacuum which is established in the openings 27 and 28 of the clamping surface of the head 16.

Fourth, the air pressure to the air motor 21 is reversed again so that the two heads are clamped together again (FIG. 9). The air motor 31 is operated so that buttcontrol bar 29 is advanced until its free edge 30 is arrested in the corresponding recess 55. This introduces a slight bow in the portion of the web 12 which extends between the bars 52 and 52. As a consequence thereof the web part which is comprised between said butt control means and the cut-off edge is pulled upwardly since the clamping pressure between the two heads is not so high that the web would be torn by the butt-control bar. The distance over which the freshly cut edge of the web 12 is displaced is comprised between 0.2 and 0.3 mm.

The air motor 49 is actuated so that the tape applicator 34 is pulled towards the opposite edge of the web and reaches a position wherein the idler roller 46 is a few centimeters beyond the edge of the web.

During the movement of the tape applicator, the roller 46 firmly presses the tape onto the slightly spaced web ends so that after finishing the taping operation the relative position of the web extremities is exactly secured. The progressive application of the tape to the webs ensures a perfect adhesion of the tape to the web ends. This perfect adhesion is frequently not obtained in those arrangements wherein the tape is first tensioncd parallel to but separated from the webs and then integrally applied thereto in a movement towards the webs, because in such arrangements the risk is great that air bubbles are included between the adhesive layer and the webs which are very diflicult to remove.

The air motors 50 and 51 are shortly energized so that in an upward movement the knives 36 and 37 cut-off the ends of the tape which protrude at either side of the web.

Fifth, the air pressure supply to the air motors 20 and 21 is reversed so that the head 15 is withdrawn into the inoperative position. The air motor 66 is reversed so that the pair of rollers 61 and 63 is no longer braked and the web travel can go on. The air motors 42 and 49 are actuated to bring the tape applicator 34 and the cutter 33 into their initial position, and the air motor 31 is actuated to withdraw the butt-control bar 29. After a time interval sufliciently long to have the web joint passed between the rollers 61 and 63 which apply an extra pressure thereto, the air motor 64 is operated so that the roller 63 is removed from the roller 61. Finally, the mechanism controlling the rod 67 is actuated to bring the rod into its initial position shown in FIG. 2. The joining operation is now completed, the apparatus has taken the rest position, and the operator can remove the remaining end of the web 11 from the rod 67 and prepare another fresh web for the next joining operation.

In the described joining operation it was assumed that the roll containing the fresh web 11 was brought into rotation by the pulling force of the proceeding web 12. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the mechanism wherein the roll with fresh material is journalled may also comprise means for driving said roll,

and that such driving means may be coupled'with the butt splicer for starting its operation at the moment the joint has been made so that the fresh joint is not loaded with the charge which is otherwise required to make the roll of fresh web material move.

The end of the tape which has been cut off at the left hand side of the webs according to FIG. 4 keeps adhering to the plate 26. During the next splicing operation another tape end is added thereto and these operations may go on this way until a number of tape ends have been adhered onto each other, the total thickness of which may impair the proper working of the device. At that moment the operator must remove the tape ends by hand or by means of an appropriate tool during the inoperative position of the butt splicer.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the described embodiment.

The relative movement between the two heads may also occur by a bodily displacement of each head.

The different clamping means may also be operated individually rather than together such as occurs in the described embodiment wherein the position of the clamping means depends on the position of the movable head.

The apparatus according to the invention may also be arranged for the application of a second tape to the other side of the Web joint. This second tape may be applied by an arrangement which is simpler of construction than the present one and which may be spaced apart from the present splicing station. It may comprise an applicator roller which extends transversely of the web path onto which a tape may be tensioned lengthwise, the adhesive layer being at the outer side, and which is urged towards the webs in timed relation so that the webs make contact with the tape and pull it from the applicator roller at the moment the web joint passes over said roller.

What is claimed is:

1. A butt splicer for butt-joining a fresh web to a running web, said webs having portions thereof arranged in adjacent aligned superposed paths, which splicer comprises relatively displaceable clamping means for clamping said Web portions together along a common path preparatory to splicing, a cutter for simultaneously cutting both webs transversely while they are pressed together by the clamping means, means for applying a tape splice to the adjacent end portions of the webs produced by said cutter, and butt control means operative to displace one of the freshly cut web end edges a small distance away from the other such end edge before such web ends are taped together.

2. A butt splicer according to claim 1, wherein said butt control means comprises a member extending transversely of the web path and displaceable perpendicularly of the common web path against one web end portion to displace the same in bowed fashion out of said common path and consequently move the cut edge of the displaced end portion away from the cut edge of the other end portion.

3. A butt splicer according to claim 2, wherein said butt control means comprises an elongated bar extending transversely of the common path of the webs and mounted for displacement in a perpendicular direction towards and away from said path from an inoperative position to an operative position projecting at one end a small distance into said path from said clamping surface.

4. A butt splicer according to claim- 3, wherein said elongated bar has a rounded face for contacting said web in its projected operative position.

5. A butt splicer according to claim 1 including braking means for applying a braking force to the running web to arrest said web during the splicing operation.

6. A butt splicer according to claim 1, including means for removing from said common path the cut-01f end portion of one of said webs.

7. A butt splicer according to claim 6, wherein the butt control means is located downstream along said common path of the line of cut through the webs.

8. A butt splicer according to claim 1, wherein the clamping means includes a stationary head on one side of the Web path and on the other side of the web path a movable head which is adapted for displacement into and out of clamping engagement with said stationary head.

9. A butt splicer according to claim 8 wherein said clamping means includes separate movable clamping elements for the respective web end portions to be spliced together disposed on either side of the line of cut of the webs.

10. A butt splicer according to claim 9 wherein said two clamping elements are mounted on a common frame for movement into clamping engagement with said stationary head.

11. A butt splicer according to claim 10 wherein said clamping elements include resilient pressure pads and the resilient force of the head contacting the web end portion to be displaced by said butt control means is less than the resilient force of the head contacting the other web end portion. a I

12. A butt splicer according to claim 9 wherein said butt control means comprises an elongated bar extending transversely of the common path of the webs and mounted for displacement in a perpendicular direction towards and away from said path from an inoperative position to an operative position projecting at one end a small distance into said path from said clamping surface, and one of said clamping elements is adapted to cooperate wigh said butt control bar and includes two pressure pads spaced apart along the common web path to define therebetween a depression to receive the projecting end of said butt control bar when in said operative position.

13. A butt splicer according to claim 12 wherein said butt control bar is mounted on said stationary head.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,514,363 5/1970 Stone et a1. 156505 3,298,890 l/ 1967 Hellemans 156--504 2,987,108 6/1961 Kilmartin 156-504 3,489,628 1/ 1970 Catzen 15 6-504 X 3,554,842 1/1971 Byrt 156502 X PHILIP DIER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

